Stage 15 - September 19: Granada - Sierra Nevada (I.T.T.), 29.6 km

A nightmare for Heras and the dreams of Generation X

The revelation of the last four days of La Vuelta has been without a doubt
Phonak's Santi Pérez. As he explained yesterday he has gained a huge lift in
his morale as a result of being able to climb to Calar Alto with Heras, Valverde,
Mancebo and co. He did it whilst many other bigger names simply fell by the
wayside. Coming here to support his better known superiors, Hamilton, Sevilla
and Gutierrez, nobody talked of Santi before La Vuelta as a contender for anything.
Even after his second place in Calar Alto, where he got criticised by some senior
members of the Spanish press for wheel sucking, he wasn't expected to do anything
more. But as soon as the road went up again, the reborn Pérez has not looked
back one inch.

Today he confirmed his class and power. There was no chance today of following
wheels in what was probably one of the toughest cronoescaladas seen in recent
times - 29.6 kms, 22.9 of them classified climbing, and the first 6.5 km out
of town were not themselves flat at all. Our pre-race calculations were that
the winners would come in with a time around 1:05 or so. But that was about
the time that early leader Alexandre Vinokourov (T-Mobile) set. Although Vino
has had a rough time of it, he is surely no slouch - his time was good, but
in the end only enough to finish in fourth place.

27 year old Generation X-er Santi Pérez ripped 3'06 out of Vino, and from the
time he passed the Cat. 1 peak of the Alto de Monachil it never looked like
anyone was going to catch him. He probably gained even more confidence after
yesterday's attack on the same mountain, enough it seemed to carry him up that
and over the next - the ascent to the ski station at Sierra Nevada. The further
Santi went up the mountain, the further behind him fell the rest of the field.
Santi's week has been more than any rider with his recent history could even
consider in their wildest imagination. "I am in the middle of a dream," he told
Cyclingnews after the stage. "I will always remember this day."

Santi's dream just seems to get bigger and bigger, day by day. "If I continue
along this line, I will be fighting for the stages in Covatilla nd aNavacerrada,
but now they are going to be careful with me. I am at a good level and I believe
that I could do well in the Madrid time trial, even though I am a climber."

The young Asturian rider now stands in third position overall. In two days
he has jumped from eighth and now cannot be discounted to be on the podium a
week from today in Madrid. Remember between now and Madrid we still have four
days of solid climbing out of the six to come.

Santi of course was not the only one to cause some changes in the GC today.
You could have been forgiven for thinking that a few days ago when Roberto Heras
soared to the Observatory at Calar Alto that La Vuelta was all wrapped up. Some
people say that what La Vuelta lacks is a patron, Heras is the closest La Vuelta
gets to having one. Some say what is needed is the attendance of an Indurain
or an Armstrong to reinforce the race's stature. However what makes La Vuelta
what it is - a race with competition and life - is that it is exciting. It is
not the formula event of the Tour of recent years were no one is able to lay
a hand on the favourite.

Heras was the favourite for today, as he has been for the general. No-one dreamed
that he would finish nearly two minutes behind Santi Pérez today, that he might
be on the edge of a precipice staring his worst nightmares in the face? But
the nightmare of Heras is not yet Santi Pérez. It takes another form, but it
is another young rider. This one you couldn't label a pure climber like Heras
or Pérez. This one, as Stuart O'Grady told us over a week ago, has "a kick on
him like a track sprinter". Touted as the new Jalabert and more, 24 year old
Alejandro Valverde might just be The One. The one to rob everything from under
the nose of Heras and his director Manolo Saiz.

When USPS held the lead in this race, Manolo Saiz was reported as saying that
Floyd Landis would be this year's Isidro Nozal. He would hold the jersey until
the mountain time trial and then lose it on the Sierra Nevada and from there
on Heras would be triumphant. All that was fine if Landis was putting his hand
up to win in Madrid. As it was, a tired Landis lost the jersey on that mammoth
day to Calar Alto. But after Valverde's ride to finish second today, 1'07 behind
Pérez and 44 seconds ahead of Heras, the question is now: Is Heras the Isidro
Nozal of La Vuelta 2004? Has he lost the race on the very climb on which he
was meant to seal his victory?

Today Heras looked laboured. He lacked rhythm for all but a few kilometres
towards the end. He struggled to find anything like his stellar mountain time
trial of 2003. His body hung over the bars in a manner that lacked strength.
He looked plain worried and nervous. Manolo Saiz didn't chase any motor bikes
off the road in frustration, there were no incidents between him and the police,
but Saiz didn't sound too chipper when he spoke to Iñaki Cano who reports from
the Spanish TV motor bike in the final kilometres.

Another director, the one that more or less accuses Saiz of excluding him from
the UCI Pro Tour, Vicente Belda, portrayed no such emotion. Belda was on top
of the world, with Alejandro Valverde's girlfriend beside him, he honked the
car horn while she yelled support to her boyfriend. Today Valverde was also
living a dream - a dream that could turn into the worst nightmare of Roberto
Heras. Valverde climbed in a manner totally different to Heras, a cap on his
head turned backwards, the image of a classical cyclist, churning a gear that
looked comfortable. Even when he was struggling in the final kilometres he looked
like he was intent on bringing life back into cycling.

Valverde appears to be intent on knocking Heras off his throne. Yesterday
he tried to slip away on both sides of the Monachil. Whenever he gets a chance
to test the opposition he does it. There is no machine-like performance, just
exhilaration, hope and desire. "Everyone keeps talking about the crash I had
the other day," said Valverde, refusing to dwell on the past. "I don't think
about when I fell or my injuries, I only think about what is to come, what is
ahead. I am convinced that I can take the jersey. I know I will be faster on
the final time trial in Madrid. I am convinced."

Five seconds now stands between Valverde and Heras as we enter La Vuelta's
second rest day and the long transfer from Andalucia to Extremadura. The day
after sees a flat road stage in which Fassa won't have Petacchi to work for
nor Cofidis, O'Grady. T Mobile hasn't got enough players left to control the
race for Zabel so it could end up being a day in which we see a long break of
those who are not in the running for the GC. Or it could be a day when the fireworks
continue. Kelme has the passion and the reason to try something out. Another
move to test the nerve of Liberty, Heras and Saiz just a little bit more. If
not, the following stage sees us enter four days of continual climbing. Morale,
nerves and courage are going to be needed a plenty. Madrid still seems a long
way away.

Photography

Images by Unipublic

Francisco Cabello
swapping his jersey with the basketball players of C.Baloncesto Granada,
Dani Romero, the captain and Nacho Ordin, the base of the team.